As expected, the CP 'International' Grand Prix, presented by Rolex turned out to be a very difficult class. Huge fences and very techincal lines gave the riders a tough task to solve, but two of them jumped both rounds as well as the jump-off without any faults. One of them was Maikel van der Vleuten with Verdi TN - here with his trademark bucking through the finish line after the second round was completed. All photos (c) Jenny Abrahamsson.
Beezie Madden and Coach ended third in the class after getting one time penalty in the second round after otherwise flawless jumping.
Andre Thieme and Aretino 13 were the first ones to deliver a clear in round one. In the second round they had to see nine faults on the scoreboard, and ended 10th.
Barbara Schnieper did a really good first round with Cicero F, to end it on four faults. But after the first round she was in 13th position, and didn't make it into the twelve that qualified for the second round.
Conor Swail had some luck on the bicycle fence...
The heartbreak when you have the very last fence of round two down.
Maikel van der Vleuten and Verdi TN jumped three clear rounds to take the second place being just 0,77 seconds behind the winner Sameh El Dahan in the jump-off.
It was not Kent Farrington and Creedance's day on Sunday. After having a few faults, Kent decided to retire.
Home favourites Eric Lamaze and Fine Lady 5 made it to 7th place after jumping clear in the first round, and then having two down in the second.
Nicola Philippaerts and H&M Harley vd Bisschop speeding through the finish line after being clear in the second round. And as first to go in the second round he put some real pressure on the ones to come - climbing from 12th to 5th position.
Conor Swail and Rubens LS La Silla fought their way around the two courses to finish on a total of seven faults - giving them the 6th place.
In the first round Eduardo Menezes and H5 Quintol were clear on all fences, except this one....
Luciana Diniz and Fit For Fun - one of the biggest favorites in the class - were first given four faults on the water in round one, but after looking at the white board the judges couldn't find any marks from the hoofs so Diniz finished on a clean sheet. In the second round, Luciana had to see a pole fall settling for fourth place - and once again she was so, so close to take the Major.
The 16-year-old Verdi TN jumped amazing in all three rounds.
It was a disappointed Beezie Madden that was kept out of the jump-off after only one time fault in the second round.
It was not meant to be in the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping for Marcus Ehning. Cornado NRW didn't jump as we are used to seeing him, and Ehning decided to retire.
71.000 people visited Spruce Meadows' huge arena on Sunday.
Olivier Robert and Eros finished the first round on four faults, but after getting in to trouble in the second round Robert retired and they had to settle for the 12th place.
This triple combination - that was the second last challenge in the second round - was a real challenge and killed the dream of a win for several riders. And even if you managed to clear these three fences, you still had a difficult line to the last enormous oxer to handle.
Last year's winners Philipp Weishaupt and LB Convall finished the first round with eight faults.
Rowan Willis and the spicey Blue Movie took the 11th place in the prestigious class.
Steve Guerdat and Hannah got into trouble on the last line of the second round and finished with nine faults - after being clear in the first round.
As happy as Maikel was after being clear in the second round, as disappointed did he look after finishing the jump-off knowing he had left too much room for Sameh to improve his time.
The winners Sameh El Dahan and Suma's Zorro!
Then